20 Best Home Cardio

No need to join gym membership, no need to buy expensive workout equipment. All you need is descent space at home and allocate time for yourself to commit to this routine.

Build Body Core The Correct Way

Are you tired of endless crunches, leg lifts and side bends? That's a good thing! Those exercises are far more likely to cause back pain than carve a solid core.

Finishing your workout with four to five sets of traditional ab exercises, often termed "isolated movements," used to be considered good core training. In reality, though, your body doesn't work in isolation.

Instead, think of your body as a single chain. Movement is created through the coordination of multiple muscle groups. So when you train your core, focus on integrated movements, not on trying to isolate a particular muscle or muscle group.

Another issue with performing a high volume of crunches and sit-ups is that they can leave you with bad posture, shortened hip flexors and lower back pain. So here's what you need to know to better sculpt your midsection.

What Is the Core?

Before you can understand what's meant by integrated movements, you must first know the definition of core.

"The core really encompasses everything from your head to your toes, as every segment of your body is intimately linked, both structurally and functionally," says Eric Cressey, certified strength and conditioning specialist and co-founder of Cressey Performance in Hudson, Mass. 

While there are many exercises that train the torso, the most effective (and the most functional) are often similar to what you're already doing — squats, deadlifts, lunges — but with asymmetrical loading and optimal trunk positioning.

Your abs aren't just your "six-pack muscles" (rectus abdominis). You have your transverse abdominis (musculature below the rectus abdominis), multifidus (deep lying stabilizer), and internal and external obliques (muscles in your sides that aid in twisting and hip flexion).

Stabilizing the torso and engaging in movement is a collaboration among these muscles and the antagonistic engagement of the entire posterior chain — the lats, spinal erectors, glutes and hamstrings.

Build Functional Core Strength

Joe Dowdell, certified strength and conditioning specialist and founder of Peak Performance in New York City, says true core training is about selecting appropriate core exercises. That means those that will challenge your abilities while safely and effectively progressing you toward your goal.

"The ultimate goal is to develop a core that is both strong and stable and will allow us to be able to either resist and/or transfer significant amounts of force in any given movement pattern," he says.

One example of a highly effective core exercise is the cable chop/lift sequence. From a kneeling split squat, set up perpendicular to the high or low attachment on a cable machine. From this position, rotate your locked arms across your body in various patterns — diagonal up, straight across or diagonal down — while keeping your torso fixed and braced.

Incorporate Compound Movements

 

Compound movements and variations of many conventional upper and lower body exercises can develop high levels of torso strength, stability and balance. When you change the loading, base of support or plane of movement, you're required to stabilize or resist movement for the duration of the exercise.

When performing exercises such as squats and deadlifts, you often hear the term "braced." It essentially mean tensing and contracting the core as if you were bracing for a punch. It's a skill that can be developed, and it'll keep your spine safe and allow you to build and transfer power.

Conventional core training has given way to a more intelligent, integrated program design. When you better understand the function of the core and how the body works, you'll be able to structure your workouts to eliminate weaknesses and improve your lifts or your performance. 

The introduction of integrated core movements, unilateral upper and lower body variations and static postures will help re-enforce bracing and improve your torso stability under load.

Source: Live Strong

Gal Gadot Trained To Be Wonder Woman

Much to the delight of women everywhere, Wonder Woman has been a box office hit the world over. The film's success means that the core messages of feminism have been delivered to the masses. 

The breakout star? None other than Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot, and her very sizeable biceps.

Getting in shape for the role couldn’t have been easy for Gadot who had to train like an athlete for the part. Here, we look at the method behind the actress’ physique.

It took six months of preparation

A body like that doesn’t happen overnight. To prepare for the film, Gadot started an intensive health and fitness routine six months out from filming.

Prior to training, the actress was built more like a beanstalk than a fearless warrior. Despite having Hollywood’s finest trainers and nutritionists at her disposal, Gadot’s transformation still took six months of hard work.

She worked out for six hours a day

Gadot hit the gym for six hours over a six month period. (Meanwhile, we’re over here trying to get through six hours of work without eating a doughnut…) “I did two hours gym work, two hours fight choreography, and two hours horseback riding. Which is super hard,” she said on Live with Kelly and Ryan.

“When people used to tell me, ‘Yeah I do sports I ride horses,’ I was like, ‘That’s not sport. The horse does everything.’ No! No! You’d be surprised—it’s sooo painful.”

Initially, this routine would have been quite taxing for Gadot who isn’t usually much of a gym junkie. “In my ordinary life when I don't work, I like to paddle board and do TRX,” she told Harper’s BAZAAR .

She balanced each meal with half protein half greens

By the sounds of things, Gadot’s diet isn’t rocket science. Instead, she focused on whole foods. The actress’ trainer, Hayley Bradley told InStyle, “Poor nutrition and inadequate sleep reduce the effectiveness of training by 20 to 30 percent.”

To follow the Wonder Woman routine, Bradley says: “Balance each meal with equal amounts of protein and greens, and to be wary of seemingly healthy choices like green juice, which can be highly caloric thanks to the large amounts of natural sugars in some fruits and veggies.”

She didn’t restrict herself too much

Gadot is an unapologetic foodie so she doesn’t like to restrict herself too much. “I love to experience food, but at the same time I look at food as fuel and I want to give the best to my body,” she told BAZAAR. “So of course I have my bad things that I eat like burgers or ice cream with chocolate. I don't restrict myself, I can eat everything.”

“It's all a matter of measurements and quantity of the food; just enjoy your food and don't eat while you drive and don't eat when you talk on the phone,” Gadot continued. “Just give the food the respect and give yourself the respect to enjoy it.”

Source: Elle Australia

Biceps Workout Video

Eat Like The Rock

Dwayne Johnson is the highest-paid actor in the world. He’s also one of the most shredded.

The Rock may not have much time to sleep between shooting major movies like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Baywatch, and Rampage, not to mention his TV work (the HBO series Ballers) and YouTube videos (via his Seven Bucks Productions digital channel). He also, y'know, works out a ton.

But no matter how busy he is, Johnson certainly makes time to eat. (He also really loves his cheat meals—including one with French toast and apple pie.)

Johnson fuels his gains and makes sure he has the size he needs for his film roles by sometimes eating up to 5,000 calories per day. That can change depending on the movie role, but, either way, Johnson is all about eating right and getting the right amount of protein.

Johnson shared one of his favorite meals with his fans on social media, preparing to get a day off for the first time in “weeks.” The superstar actor chowed down on “spinach salad, baked potato, and a big sexy hunk of dead cow.”

Muscle & Fitness broke down Johnson’s diet, which sometimes can consist of up to seven meals per day, including portions of steak, cod, chicken, salmon, rice, vegetables, and potatoes.

Grilled chicken with dry herb rub

Grilled skirt steak with pepper slaw

Glazed salmon with stir fried vegetables

Grilled honey and lemon chicken

Foil packet lemon and herb cod

Flank steak with chimichurri sauce

Grilled butterfly leg of lamb

Source: Men's Fitness

5 Ways To Work On Your Abs

It's time to push your abs to exhaustion—and fight the flab—with new ab exercises that are anything but routine. And it's not just a six-pack you'll get: Maintain strong abs, and you’ll help prevent back pain, boost your agility, and increase your flexibility, says Tom Holland, exercise physiologist and author of Beat The Gym: Personal Trainer Secrets Without the Personal Trainer Price Tag.
But no matter how tough these exercises get, always remember the golden rule of ab workouts: quality over quantity. If you're still cranking out 2,000 fast-paced crunches a day, you're wasting your time (and maybe even hurting your back). Instead of ripping through the motions, slow down and focus on getting the most out of each rep, Holland says. With slow, concentrated effort, you'll be building up to 30-second sets of quality moves—and admiring those washboard abs you've always wanted—in no time.

1. SPIDERMAN PLANK CRUNCH

 

• Start in a traditional plank position with your forearms on the ground and your body perfectly straight.
• Bring your right knee forward towards your right elbow, then return to the plank position.
• Repeat by bringing your left knee toward your left elbow.
• That’s one rep. Alternate sides for a total of 10 complete reps.

Holland says: “The plank is pretty much one of the only exercises where you’re getting your entire core. You’re working the front and back of your abdominal area at the same time without any equipment. You’re getting your rectus abdominis, your obliques, and your lower back. It’s so simple and effective that you can do it anywhere.”

2. CABLE ROTATION

 

• Stand holding a cable with both hands out in front of you at just under shoulder height.
• Keeping your arms fixed and straight and your abs engaged, rotate your upper body to the left, then back to center, and then to the right, and then back to center.
• That’s one rep Alternate sides for one set of 10 complete reps.

Holland says: “This move really targets the obliques and is sports-specific, so it’s great for golfers, tennis players, baseball players, and people who do racquet sports. Make your exercise as close to the movement that you’re going to do in your sport and you’ll get the biggest gain.”

3. BICYCLE CRUNCH

 

• Lie on your back with your hands behind your head, and your legs raised and bent at 90 degrees.
• Alternate sides by bringing your right elbow towards your left knee then your left elbow towards your right knee, building up to 60 seconds.
• Try and hold the crunch for a two-count on each side to force a slower, concentrated movement.

Holland says: "With this movement, you’re targeting all three key areas at the same time. It combines a regular crunch, the side-to-side motion that targets the obliques, and the reverse crunch that hits the lower abs."

4. CROSS CRUNCH

• Lie on your back with arms and legs diagonally out so that your body forms an "X."
• Keeping arms and legs straight, bring your right hand towards your left foot, then your left hand towards your right foot, lifting your head, neck, and shoulders off the ground.
• That’s one rep. Aim for one complete set of 10 reps.

Holland says: “It’s a simple exercise, and you’re safe and supported on the ground. With the legs coming off the floor, you’re getting your lower abs. And because you’re coming at an angle, you’re hitting your obliques and your rectus abdominis, too.”

5. SWISS-BALL ROLLOUT

• Kneel on a mat with your hands on a Swiss stability ball.
• Keeping your back straight and your abs engaged, roll the ball as far away from you can, then slowly roll back to starting position.
• Aim for two sets of 10 rollouts.

Holland says: “This move is like the ab wheel, but it’s much safer and easier on the lower back. It targets your rectus abdominis because you’re staying in one plane. If you want to add another element, rolling out at a 45-degree angle to the left and right challenges the obliques.”

Source: Men's Fitness